THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


L. 


•pa.-tron 


SIX   HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY  COPIES  OF  THIS  BOOK, 

PRINTED  FOR  PRIVATE  DISTRIBUTION, 
ARE  REPRINTS,  WITH   SOME  ADDITIONAL  MATTER, 

OF    WHAT     WAS    RECENTLY    PUBLISHED 
IN  THE  LESS  DURABLE  FORM  OF  PAMPHLETS 


130  West  87th  Street, 

NEW  YORK,  July  20,  1918. 


The  provincial  Museums  of  Art,  in  France, 
purchase  paintings  from  painters  living,  at  the 
time  of  such  purchase,  in  the  locality  of  such  pur- 
chasing Museum. 

Read  pages  35  to  41  of 
"PAINTER  AND  PATRON." 

Should  not  such  a  custom  prevail  in  the  United 
States  of  America  wherever  there  is  now,  or  may 
be  in  the  future,  a  Museum  of  Art  ? 

Any  suggestions  by  the  Reader,  as  to  the 
advisability  of  Museums  of  Art  cultivating  the 
habit  of  buying  paintings  direct  from  living 
painters,  will  be  thankfully  received  by 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 


NEW  YORK,  June  26,  1918. 


DEAR  CLARKE  : 

I  am  sending  to  you,  herewith,  the  printed 
proof  sheets  of  a  proposed  publication, 

PAINTER  AND  PATRON. 


As  you  know,  "Pippa  Passes"  is  the  title  of  a 
fine  poem  by  Robert  Browning,  showing  that  a 
working  girl  influenced,  beneficially,  the  lives  of 
some  people  far  above  her  humble  station. 

I  love  to  think  that  my  Mother,  through  the 
publication  of  "Painter  and  Patron",  may  exert 
a  beneficial  influence  in  the  Art  World. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

SAMUEL  B.  CLARKE,  ESQ., 
Class  of  1874, 

Harvard  College. 


LETTERS 

PAGE 

HON.  A.  T.  CLEAR  WATER 14 

Former  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

WILLIAM  SERGEANT  KENDALL,  N.  A 15 

Director  of  the  School  of  Fine  Arts, 
Yale  University. 

WILLIAM  SARTAIN,  A.  N.  A 16 

CHARLES  C.  CURRAN,  N.  A 18 

Member  of  the  Faculty  of  the  National 
Academy  of  Design. 

ALBERT  STERNER,  A.  N.  A 19 

President  of  Painter  Gravers  of  America. 

WILL  H.  Low,  N.  A 22 

GEORGE  INNESS,  JR.,  N.  A 28 

A  SUGGESTION  BY  WILL  H.  Low.  35 


IV 


NEW  YORK,  July  24,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  FORBES  : 


A  child  keeps  his  eyes  and  ears  open  and  grad- 
ually the  wonders  of  the  world  unfold  before  him. 

In  the  World  of  the  Art  of  Painting,  I  am  that 
child — and  it  is  a  delightful  world. 

Prior  to  1880,  a  gentleman, — a  Russian, — 
bought  two  large  landscapes  painted  by  a  painter 
once  prominent  in  the  Diisseldorf  School  of  Paint- 
ing. The  Russian  paid  $1,500  for  each  landscape 
and  they  were  the  treasures  of  his  fine  house  on 
48th  Street  between  Fifth  and  Madison  Avenues, 
New  York  City.  He  died,  then  his  widow  died 
about  fifteen  years  ago.  Nobody  would  pay  any- 
thing for  the  paintings  and  the  Executors  of  her 
will  gave  them  away. 

The  paintings  that,  to-day,  we  believe  are 
works  of  art,  our  children  may  not  look  at.  You 
may  point  to  certain  great  periods  of  art.  But 
how  much  of  the  present  vogue  of  the  art  of  these 
periods  is  genuine,  and  how  much  is  due  to  the 
advertising  skill  of  the  dealers? 

Carpe  diem, — seize  and  enjoy  the  beauties  of 
the  paintings  of  any  and  all  Schools  of  Painting. 
Why  should  we  dogmatize  about  the  Schools  of 
the  Art  of  Painting? 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 
Mr.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES. 


NEW  YORK,  July  24,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  Low : 

Day  before  yesterday  I  finished  "A  Chronicle 
of  Friendships"  and  with  regret  put  it  aside. 

But  at  this  moment  it  is  on  a  chair  at  my  side. 
A  friend,  influential  in  the  Art  World,  is  of  the 
opinion  that  it  is  better  to  collect  the  paintings  of 
the  great  masters  now  dead  rather  than  to  pur- 
chase those  of  the  present  day  whose  vogue  may 
not  be  lasting.  His  statement  sends  me  to  page 
501  of  your  book — "A  Chronicle  of  Friendships" 
— where  you  say  that  upon  the  death  of  Saint- 
Gaudens,  some  critic — the  Devil's  Advocate — 
lifted  up  his  voice  and  suggested  "that  tried  by 
the  canons  of  the  Greeks,  Saint-Gaudens'  sculp- 
ture would  be  found  wanting." 

Well,  suppose  that  Saint-Gaudens  is  not 
Phidias.  What  of  it  ?  He  is  Saint-Gaudens,  and 
his  works  can  be  admired — and  so  can,  at  the  same 
time,  those  of  Phidias.  Admiration  for  the  works 
of  the  one,  does  not  exclude  admiration  for  the 
works  of  the  other. 

Let  there  be  as  many  Schools  of  Art  as  there 
are  known  centuries  of  time.  If  I  were  a  collector 
of  Paintings  or  a  Director  of  a  Museum  of  Art, 

VI 


I  would  want  the  best  examples  I  could  get  of 
each  important  School  of  Painting — buying  but  a 
very  few,  of  each  School — one  good  one  of  each 
School  being  sufficient. 

I  am,  in  Art,  a  layman — and  do  not  quite  un- 
derstand why  one  painting,  fine  as  an  example 
of  its  School,  should  be  refused  admittance  in  a 
Museum  of  Art,  because  that  School  is  no  longer 
the  fashion  and  because  another  School  is  in 
vogue. 

When  I  think  of  Rembrandt's  paintings  being 
neglected  for  about  100  years — and  those  of 
other  painters  also — I  cannot  understand  how  any 
broad-minded  man  can  dogmatize  about  the  vari- 
ous Schools  of  Painting.  Was  it  not  only  a  few 
years  ago  that  Monet  and  Manet  were  treated 
with  scant  courtesy? 

Here  I  abruptly  stop,  for  in  writing  of  Paint- 
ings to  you,  I  am  carrying  coals  to  Newcastle. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

Mr.  WILL  H.  Low. 


VII 


ROSE 

AND  HER  MOTHER 
MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

1848 

FROM    A    PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE  BY 
AI.YN   WILLIAMS 


THE  PHYSICIAN  LAWYER  AND  PAINTER 


The  product  of  the  services  of  the  Physician 
and  Lawyer  cannot  be  handled  as  merchandise 
by  a  Middleman,  put  in  the  latter's  store,  there 
exhibited  and  offered  for  sale  as  merchandise  to 
Patient  or  Client 

Therefore  the  Physician  and  Patient,  the 
Lawyer  and  Client,  deal  directly  with  one  an- 
other, with  no  Middleman  between  them  to  be 
interested  in  the  Physician  and  Lawyer  receiving 
low  fees,  and  in  the  Patient  and  Client  paying 
large  fees — he,  the  Middleman  to  reap  large 
profits. 


II 


The  product  of  the  work  of  a  Painter  is  a 
painting — something  tangible,  which  a  Middle- 
man can  put  in  his  store,  and  offer  for  sale,  as 
merchandise. 

Let  it  be  established  that  a  Painter  must  not 
advertise,  that  the  Public  is  not  capable  of  judg- 
ing a  painting,  as  a  work  of  art,  but  that  a 
Middleman  can  advertise  the  painting  and  is  a 
competent  expert,  it  follows  that  the  Middleman 
is  interested  in  buying  paintings  from  the  Painter 
at  low  prices  and  in  selling  them  to  the  Patron 
at  high  prices. 

Thus,  at  the  expense  of  Painter  and  Patron  the 
Middleman  can  become  wealthy,  and  a  dominant 
figure  in  the  Art  World. 

Ought  not  the  Painter  and  Patron  to  cultivate 
the  habit  of  dealing  directly  with  one  another  in 
the  sale  and  purchase  of  paintings? 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 


MRS.  LOUISE   E.  BETTENS 

DECEMBER.   19O7 
FROM    A    PAINTING    IN     MINIATURE    BY 

ALYN   WILLIAMS 
FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    OF  A    PORTRAIT 

PAINTED    BY 
WALTER    FLORIAN 


PAINTER  AND  PATRON 


NEW   YORK 
NINETEEN    HUNDRED  AND   EIGHTEEN 


The  William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum  in 
Harvard  University  controls  a  sum  of  money 
amounting,  at  present,  to  Twenty  Thousand 
Dollars,  as  a  principal  fund,  known  as 

THE  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS  FUND 

ESTABLISHED   BY    HER    CHILDREN 

The  income  of  this  fund  is  to  be  used  to  en- 
courage and  advance  Painting  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  including  women,  as  well  as  men. 

On  account  of  that  Fund,  Harvard  College 
owns  the  following  paintings,  which  are  now  on 
exhibition  in  the  Fogg  Art  Museum: 

Lake  O'Hara,  an  oil  painting,  by  John 
Singer  Sargent. 

Bridle  Path — Tahiti,  a  water  color,  by  John 
La  Farge. 

Sunday  Morning,  Domberg,  a  water  color, 
by  James  McNeil  Whistler. 

Monmouth,  before  James  II,  refusing  to  re- 
veal the  names  of  his  accomplices,  an 
unfinished  oil  painting,  by  John  Single- 
ton Copley. 

Fishing  in  the  Adirondacks,  a  water  color, 
by  Winslow  Homer. 
8 


130  West  87th  Street, 

NEW  YORK,  May  1,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  FORBES: 

It  is  false  economy  to  purchase  a  painting  because  it 
is  cheap.  And  no  painting  should  be  purchased,  unless 
it  is  in  fact  a  work  of  art. 

The  quality  of  a  water  color  bought  from  Winslow 
Homer  for  $300,  is,  at  that  price,  the  same  as  a  work  of 
art,  as  when  $3,000  is  paid  for  it  at  a  later  time. 

Fashion,  or  scarcity  of  his  paintings  in  the  market, 
may  lead  to  the  payment  of  very  high  prices  for  his 
works.  But,  as  works  of  art,  their  qualities  have  not 
changed. 

The  Dealer  in  works  of  art  is  not,  in  any  proper  sense, 
a  patron  of  art.  He  is  a  merchant,  and  to  patronize  him, 
is  to  benefit  the  merchant,  and  only  very  remotely,  the 
Artist. 

Fewer  artists  would  live  in  straitened  circumstances 
and  die  poor,  if  the  real  Patrons  of  art — Museums  of 
Art,  for  instance — would  deal  directly  with  the  Artist, 
and  shun  the  Dealer. 

How  was  it  in  all  of  the  great  ages  of  Art?  In  the 
Age  of  Pericles?  In  the  Italian  Renaissance?  Cannot 
our  age  do  as  they  did  ? 

I  know  that  it  requires  courage  to  do  this,  but  Harvard 
College  can  afford  to  be  a  leader  in  a  movement  that 
looks  to  helping  the  Artist  by  buying  from  him,  and 
should,  as  far  as  possible,  have  nothing  to  do  with 
Dealers,  whose  main  purpose  is  money  making. 

Am  I  asking  the  impossible?    I  think  not. 

I  thank  you  for  your  valuable  letter  of  April  29th  ult. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

Mr.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES, 

Director  Fogg  Art  Museum. 


NEW  YORK,  May  7,  1918. 
DEAR  TAYLOR: 

Recently  there  was  some  correspondence  between 
Mr.  Edward  W.  Forbes,  the  Director  of  the  Fogg  Art 
Museum,  and  me,  looking  to  a  purchase  of  some  painting 
by  the  late  Winslow  Homer,  with  the  income  of  the 
Louise  E.  Bettens  Fund  (the  accrued  interest  of  which 
amounted  to  $1,200).  On  approval,  Messrs.  M.  Knoedler 
&  Co.  sent  to  the  Fogg  Art  Museum  the  following  Wins- 
low  Homer  paintings : 

"Fishing  in  the  Adirondacks",  water 

color  price,  $2,000 

"Moonlight  on  Water",  unfinished  oil 

painting  1,500 

"Rise  to  a  Fly",  water  color 1,200 

Total $4,700 

I  had  not  seen  these  paintings,  but  I  was  willing  to 
add  $1,300  to  the  $1,200  of  the  accrued  income  of  the 
Louise  E.  Bettens  Fund,  provided : 

(1)  That  all  three  paintings  could  be  purchased  for 
$2,500. 

(2)  That  all  three  paintings  were  approved  by  Mr. 
Forbes,  Dr.   Denman  Ross,  and  the  other  advisers  of 
Mr.  Forbes. 

"Fishing  in  the  Adirondacks"  having  been  approved 
by  Mr.  Forbes  and  his  advisers,  and  the  negotiation  for 
its  purchase  having  been  turned  over  to  me,  it  was  pur- 
chased May  7th,  1918,  for  $1,500—1  advancing  the 
needed  $300. 

My  personal  views  as  to  the  high  prices  paid  for  paint- 
ings of  dead  artists  are  stated  in  a  letter  from  me  to 
Mr.  Forbes  dated  May  1,  1918,  a  copy  of  which  is 

enclosed.  «. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

THOMAS  FENTON  TAYLOR,  Esq., 
Class  of  1875, 

Harvard  College. 

10 


NEW  YORK,  May  10,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  FORBES  : 

The  senior  partner  of  M.  Knoedler  &  Co.  is  Mr. 
Roland  Knoedler.  It  was  his  Nephew  who, 
through  me,  sold  to  the  Fogg  Art  Museum,  last 
Tuesday,  for  $1,500,  the  water  color  "Fishing 
in  the  Adirondacks"  by  Winslow  Homer. 

This  Nephew  told  me  that  he  remembered 
taking  part  in  an  Exhibition,  at  Knoedler's,  of 
25  of  Winslow  Homer's  paintings,  during  the  life- 
time of  Mr.  Homer.  The  Exhibition  was  well- 
advertised,  he  said,  and  the  prices  asked  were 
from  $150  to  about  $300,  but  only  five  were  sold. 

Last  Tuesday  "Fishing  in  the  Adirondacks," 
by  Winslow  Homer,  sold  for  $1,500.  Some  one 
has  told  me  that  the  Worcester  Art  Museum 
recently  paid  $20,000  for  an  oil  painting  by 
Winslow  Homer. 

"Why  is  it,"  I  asked  this  Nephew  of  Mr. 
Roland  Knoedler,  "that  the  Art  Museums 
do  not,  as  a  rule,  buy  paintings  direct  from 
the  Artists?" 

11 


He  shrugged  his  shoulders,  smiled,  and 
said,  "Lack  of  courage". 

"Did  not",  I  continued,  "Mr.  William  T. 
Evans  and  Mr.  Hearn  buy  American  paint- 
ings direct  from  the  Artists?  The  Evans 
collection  of  American  paintings,  a  gift  to 
the  United  States,  is  in  the  National  Gallery 
at  Washington,  D.  C.  The  Hearn  Collec- 
tion of  American  paintings  is  in  the  New 
York  Metropolitan  Museum  of  Art." 

"Yes,"  said  this  Nephew,  "they  did  buy 
direct  from  the  Artists,  but  they  bought  for 
themselves.  Directors  of  Museums  do  not 
buy  for  themselves  individually,  but  for  the 
Museums,  and  that  makes  them  timid  and 
unwilling  to  rely  on  their  own  judgment." 

M.  Knoedler  &  Co.  are  entitled  to  handsome 
commissions  in  effecting  sales  of  paintings 
because  their  reputation  and  standing  are  high. 

But  one  fact  is  clear  so  far  as  Winslow  Homer 
is  concerned.  Alive  he  had  difficulty  in  selling 
his  paintings  for  as  much  as  $250  a  painting. 
Now  that  he  is  dead  (he  died  1910)  $1,500  to 
$2,000  is  asked  for  some  of  his  paintings  and, 

12 


if  I  have  been  correctly  informed,  the  Worcester 
Art  Museum  paid  $20,000  for  one  of  his  oil 
paintings,  and  M.  Knoedler  &  Co.  get  commis- 
sions on  sales  by  them  greater  than  Winslow 
Homer,  in  his  lifetime,  could  get  for  the  paint- 
ings themselves ! 

"Are  there  not  now  alive  any  Winslow 
Homers,  neglected  at  present,  but  whose 
works  will  be  eagerly  sought  for  after  the 
Artists  are  dead?"  I  asked  this  Nephew. 

"Yes,  there  are,"  he  replied. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

MR.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES, 

Fogg  Art  Museum. 


13 


316    ALBANY    AVENUE 
KINGSTON.   NEW  YORK 


MAY  23rd,  1918. 
DEAR  BETTENS  : 

I  am  deeply  interested  in  your  correspondence 
with  Mr.  Edward  W.  Forbes,  the  Director  of  the 
Fogg  Art  Museum,  and  long  have  been  of  your 
opinion  that  if  Museums  would  buy  of  the  artist 
and  not  of  the  dealer  it  would  be  better  not  only 
for  the  artist,  but  the  art  lover.  I  suppose  that 
Mr.  Knoedler  stated  the  exact  truth  when  he 
said  to  you  that  the  reason  they  did  not  do  so 
was  lack  of  courage.  I  have  talked  with  the 
curators  of  many  Museums,  and  find  that  the  one 
phantom  which  haunts  their  imagination  is  the 
fear  of  making  a  mistake.  Now  it  has  always 
seemed  to  me  that  if  they  were  entirely  com- 
petent for  the  position  they  fill  their  mistakes 
would  be  few.  Of  course  no  one  is  infallible,  but 
sources  of  exact  information  are  as  open  to  the 
officials  of  Museums  as  they  are  to  art  dealers. 

With  many  thanks  for  your  latest  contribu- 
tion, I  am  as  ever, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

A.  T.  CLEARWATER. 
To 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS,  ESQ., 

130  West  87th  Street, 

New  York  City. 

14 


ui    G 

K     -> 

0    & 


z   o    x 


YALE    UNIVERSITY 
SCHOOL   OF   THE    FINE   ARTS 


WM.    SERGEANT  KENDALL.  M.A.,  N.  A. 
DIRECTOR 


NEW  HAVEN,  CONN., 

June  1,  1918. 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS,  ESQ., 

130  West  87th  Street, 

New  York  City. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  BETTENS  : 

I  have  been  much  interested  by  the  pamphlet 
on  the  Louise  E.  Bettens'  Fund  which  you  were 
good  enough  to  send  me. 

I  am  absolutely  in  accord  with  the  opinions 
expressed  in  your  own  letters  and  I  quite  ap- 
preciate the  answer  to  them  made  by  the  pur- 
chases of  the  Fogg  Art  Museum,  as  listed  on  the 
last  pages  of  your  pamphlet.* 

I  am 

Very  Faithfully  yours, 

WM.  SERGEANT  KENDALL. 

*Page  8  of  this  book. 

15 


130  W.  57th  St., 

NEW  YORK,  May  29,  1918. 

DEAR  MR.  FORBES: 

The  uncle  of  an  old  lady  I  knew  in  Paris  admired 
Chardins.  Bought  them  from  time  to  time  at  25  francs 
apiece.  Just  before  the  war  one  of  these  was  bought 
for  the  Louvre  for  350,000  francs. 

An  old  Paris  schoolmate  of  mine  married  Rousseau's 
niece  and  heiress — she  got  a  few  hundred  francs.  A 
New  York  City  capitalist  bought  a  Rousseau  about  five 
or  six  years  ago  for  $175,000,  the  largest  price  ever 
obtained  for  any  of  the  Barbizon  art. 

Heine  says:  "The  artist  is  the  fabled  child  of  fiction 
whose  tears  were  all  pearls.  Alas!  his  wicked  step- 
mother, the  world,  beats  him  the  more  unmercifully 
that  he  may  weep  plenty  of  pearls." 

Voltaire  says:  "Pegasus,  the  steed  that  carries  the 
genius  to  fame — ;  closing  his  life  is  the  nag  that  conducts 
him  to  the  almshouse." 

Are  there  any  connoisseurs?     I  wrote  these  lines 

ON  THE  CONNOISSEUR 
"The  Connoisseur,  pray  what  is  he? 
Plain  let  the  definition  be. 
Collectors  buy  what  all  do  know, 
No  unknown  names  their  pictures  show. 
The  Connoisseur  more  early  buys, 
Nor  waits  until  the  plaudits  rise." 

I  once  offered  a  small  work  for  $10  to  a  number  who 
had  money.  No  one  took  it.  It  was  sold  later  in  Bos- 
ton for  $500 — when  I  didn't  want  to  sell  it  ...  but 
fixing  the  price  was  obligatory  at  the  Exhibit. 

I  write  this  as  a  sort  of  postscript  to  Mr.  Bettens' 
letter  and  hope  he  may  accept  it  as  such. 

Yours  sincerely, 

WILLIAM  SARTAIN, 
A.  N.  A. 
Mr.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES, 

Fogg  Art  Museum. 

16 


NEW  YORK,  June  14,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  FORBES: 

A  golden  opportunity  offers  itself  to  you, 
the  Fogg  Art  Museum  and  Harvard  College. 
Nothing  but  honor  and  glory  will  be  the  reward 
of  those  who  successfully  champion  Art  as  it  was 
championed  in  all  of  its  Great  Ages. 

I  enclose  a  letter  dated  the  13th  day  of  June, 
1918,  to  me  from  Mr.  Charles  C.  Curran — a 
National  Academician,  (and  a  member  of  the 
Faculty  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design). 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 


MR.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES. 


17 


THIRTY-NINE  WEST  SIXTY-SEVENTH  STREET 

NEW  YORK,  June  13,  1918. 

MR.  EDWARD  D.  BETTENS, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

DEAR  MR.  BETTENS  : 

I  wish  to  thank  you  for  the  little  copy  of  various 
letters  in  the  matter  of  the  purchase  of  works  of  art 
directly  from  the  artists.*  The  hearts  of  the  artists  will  all 
warm  to  you  for  setting  forth  this  matter. 

The  simple  truth  is  that  few  of  the  people  who  could 
buy  pictures  know  enough  to  pick  the  good  ones  from 
the  indifferent. 

It  only  requires  a  foundation  of  common  sense  and  a 
modicum  of  feeling  and  imagination  to  become  in  the  end 
a  connoisseur.  Looking  at  sufficient  pictures,  sculpture 
or  architecture  will  do  the  educating. 

I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  the  little  pamphlet* 
so  simple,  brief  and  to  the  point.  Next  winter  I  mean 
to  take  the  time  to  read  the  two  books  on  Louise  E. 
Bettensf  which  you  were  kind  enough  to  present  to 
the  National  Academy  of  Design. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

CHAS.  C.  CURRAN, 
N.  A. 

*The  pamphlet  No.  II,  entitled  "The  Louise  E.  Bettens 
Fund  in  the  William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum". 

fThe  books  entitled  respectively: 

LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 
THE  FAMILY  OF  MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

18 


NEW  YORK,  May  29,  1918. 
1  LEXINGTON  AVENUE. 
EDWARD  D.  BETTENS,  Esq., 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  just  received  your  most  interesting  pamphlet, 

"THE  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS  FUND 

IN  THE 

WILUAM  HAYES  FOGG  ART  MUSEUM." 

These  letters  and  notes  make  clear  in  an  irrefutable  man- 
ner the  reason  for  the  constant  struggles  and  frequent 
poverty  of  the  American  artist  unless  he  can  also  be  an 
astute  business  man  and  adopt  dealers'  methods  for  the 
disposition  of  his  work. 

The  detriment  to  the  artist's  freedom  and  true  devel- 
opment through  these  underlying  conditions  is  obvious. 

Evidently  you  have  this  matter  at  heart  and  I  wish  to 
congratulate  you  on  the  publication  of  your  pamphlet  in 
so  good  a  cause. 

About  a  year  ago  I  became,  with  several  other  well- 
known  American  artists  working  in  the  graphic  arts,  a 
founder  of  the  Painter  Gravers  of  America.  I  beg  to 
send  you  the  first  circular,  &c.,  of  the  Society. 

I  have  recently  become  the  President  of  the  Painter 
Gravers,  and  one  of  the  intentions  of  the  association  is 
directed  against  the  cause  with  which  your  pamphlet  deals, 
viz. :  the  arbitrary  prices  made  possible  by  dealer  methods 
and  the  neglect  caused  indirectly,  through  such  methods, 
of  living  American  talent. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  the  cure  for  the  existing  evil 
(and  it  is  a  great  one)  lies  in  the  bringing  together 
directly  of  artist  and  patron.  The  fight  will  necessarily 
be  a  hard  one,  as  dealers'  methods  are  "active"  in  con- 
trast to  the  more  retiring  "passive"  method  of  the  true 
artist,  who  puts  all  his  energy  into  his  endeavor  and 
should  not  be  an  advertiser! 

I  trust  that  your  pamphlet  will  have  wide  circulation. 
I  shall  take  pleasure  in  calling  the  attention  of  my  friends 

Sincerely  yours, 

AI^ERT  STERNER, 

A.  N.  A. 
Pres.  Painter  Gravers  of  America. 

19 


NEW  YORK,  June  18,  1918. 
DEAR  MR.  Low: 

Your  very  interesting  letter  dated  June  18,  1918  re- 
ceived. Before  printing  the  letters  contained  in  the 
pamphlet  entitled  "The  Louise  E.  Bettens  Fund  in  the 
William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum"  I  first  obtained  the 
consent  of  the  writers  to  print  and  publish  them.  The 
same  is  true  as  to  a  letter  from  Mr.  Charles  C.  Curran 
included  in  the  folder  herewith  sent  to  you. 

I  am  not  a  collector  of  paintings,  nor  a  competent 
judge  of  Paintings,  as  works  of  art,  but  I  am  a  Harvard 
Graduate,  Class  of  1873,  and  am  interested  in  the 
Memorial  of  my  Mother,  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  in 
that  College. 

My  life  in  New  York  City  since  1876,  and  my  pro- 
fession, have  given  me  some  insight  in  business  matters 
in  this  city. 

I  had  some  part  in  the  buying  of  all  five  of  the  paint- 
ings specified  in  that  pamphlet.  The  business  side  of 
the  buying  and  selling  of  these  paintings  startled  me — 
and  the  pamphlet  was  distributed.  I  have  mailed  a  copy 
of  it  to  the  President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College, 
to  all  of  the  Overseers  of  Harvard  University,  and  to 
all  of  the  officers  and  Directors  of  the  Harvard  Alumni 
Association,  and  to  Director  Edward  W.  Forbes,  Pro- 
fessors Ross,  Sachs  and  Pope  of  the  Fogg  Art  Museum 
and  to  every  living  member  of  the  Class  of  1873  Harvard 
College,  whose  address  I  knew,  and  to  many  others,  not 
to  mention  all  of  the  National  Academicians  and  Asso- 
ciate Academicians. 

The  pamphlet  was  not  meant,  and  is  not  meant, 
to  be  fault  finding.  Its  sole  object  has  been,  and  is, 
to  obtain  the  views  of  competent  experts  as  to  a 
business  matter,  i.  e.,  as  to  whether  or  not  it  is  advisable 
that  Museums  should  buy  paintings  direct  from  the  living 
Artist — or  wait  until  after  he  is  dead,  and  there  is  a 
demand,  at  steadily  advancing1  prices,  for  his  paintings. 

Should  you  care  to  write  me  a  letter  on  that  subject, 
that  you  are  willing  should  be  printed  and  distributed,  I 
will  be  glad  to  receive  it — but  I  very  much  doubt 
whether  it  will  be  more  interesting  and  valuable  and  to 
the  point  than  the  one  received  from  you  today. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 
MR.  Wiu,  H.  Low,  N.  A., 
Lawrence  Park, 
Bronxville,  N.  Y. 

20 


NEW  YORK,  June  21,  1918. 
DEAR  MR.  Low: 

One  of  my  Harvard  College  classmates,  acknowledg- 
ing the  receipt  of  the  pamphlet  "The  Louise  E.  Bettens 
Fund  in  the  William  Hayes  Fogg  Art  Museum",  writes 
that  "the  fear  of  mistakes  is  a  psychological  disease  that 
is  deadly  to  success". 

Perhaps  the  above  pamphlet  given  to  the  right  kind 
of  people,  may  help  to  create  a  public  opinion  that  will 
tend  to  cure  this  sickness,  so  far  as  Art  is  concerned. 

Having  in  mind  such  a  healthy  public  opinion,  I  have 
mailed  that  pamphlet  to  about  one  hundred  College  Presi- 
dents, for  deposit  in  their  libraries.  Also,  I  have  mailed 
the  pamphlet  to  the  Curators  of  about  thirty  of  the  prin- 
cipal museums  of  Art  in  this  country. 

A  valued  friend  writes,  that  in  distributing  that  pam- 
phlet, I  am  "a  benevolent  and  beneficent  pioneer".  I  do 
not  think  so.  The  income  of  the  "Louise  E.  Bettens 
Fund"  is  to  be 

"used  to  encourage  and  advance  painting  by  citizens 
"of  the  United  States,  including  women  as  well  as 
"men." 

Through  that  pamphlet,  I  am  endeavoring  to  learn 
what  is  the  best  way  "to  encourage  and  advance  paint- 
ing", which  makes  me  out  a  learner,  a  student,  and  not 
"a  benevolent  and  beneficial  pioneer". 

However,  I  propose  now  to  take  a  vacation — not  by 
leaving  the  city,  but  by  turning  my  attention  to  some 
other  matters. 

As  requested  by  your  letter  of  19th  inst.,  I  will  mail 
you  a  typewritten  copy  of  your  letter  of  18th  inst. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 
MR.  WILL  H.  Low,  N.  A., 
Lawrence  Park, 
Bronxville,  N.  Y. 

21 


LAWRENCE  PARK, 

Bronxville,  N.  Y. 
18  June,  1918. 


MY  DEAR  SIR: 


Your  interesting  pamphlet  concerning  the  "Louise  E. 
Bettens  Fund"  has  come  to  me,  and  I  welcome  the 
interest  you  show  in  a  question  that  touches  so  closely 
upon  the  wage  to  which  an  artist,  like  any  other  work- 
man, is  entitled,  to  ensure  him  that  continuous  production 
which,  perhaps  above  all  other  influences,  sustains  the 
quality  of  his  work,  and  permits  the  full  exposition  of 
whatever  message  he  may  bring  to  the  world.  Vast 
sums  are  paid  in  this  country  for  works  of  art,  for  we 
are  fast  becoming  the  leading  art  market  of  the  world, 
and  most  of  this  passes,  and  much  remains,  in  the  hands 
of  the  dealen.  In  the  case  of  living  artists,  however, 
who  have  been  able  to  enter  into  business  relations  with 
dealers,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that  the  percentage  of 
the  returns  to  the  artist  is  greater  than  he  alone,  and 
unassisted  by  the  methods  of  the  dealer  would  receive. 
From  the  artist  who  during  his  lifetime  has  been  ham- 
pered in  his  production,  has  continually  struggled  with 
poverty,  and,  at  the  best,  has  only  been  able  to  show  in 
a  partial  degree  his  potential  merit,  the  collector  and 
dealer  profit  perhaps  too  greatly,  with  the  result  that, 
the  inflation  of  prices,  of  which  we  have  seen  many 
examples,  makes  the  possibility  of  the  purchase  of  a 
work  of  art  one  which  is  confined  to  the  wealthy.  Our 
exhibitions,  where  the  works  of  living  men  are  shown, 
and  only  a  moderate  percentage  exacted  on  sales,  go 
largely  unattended,  and,  though  the  artists  contributing 

22 


fix  prices  by  no  means  exorbitant,  the  returns  from 
sales  are  so  small  that  I  know  of  no  other  investment 
of  the  capital  necessary  for  the  production  of  the  work 
offered,  to  say  nothing  of  the  sincere  human  effort  of  a 
body  of  men  well  trained  and  happily  endowed,  which 
brings  such  small  reward.  The  ninety-odd  years  of  the 
exhibitions  of  the  National  Academy  of  Design,  for 
instance,  show,  with  the  possible  exception  of  a  short 
period  after  the  Civil  War,  continuous  deficits  from 
entrance  fees,  sales  of  catalogues,  and  percentages  on  sales 
of  pictures  for  the  Association,  and  the  returns  to  the 
artists  contributing  show  equally  that  they  and  the 
Academy  have  made  this  long  sacrifice  for  the  benefit  of 
art  to  an,  as  yet,  unresponsive  public.  "Lack  of  courage" 
is  undoubtedly  responsible  for  much  of  the  public  attitude 
to  the  living  and  producing  artist,  and  this  attitude  is 
often  shown,  as  you  point  out,  by  Directors  of  Museums 
whose  training  should  make  them  have  the  courage  of 
their  conviction  that  they  know  a  good  thing  when  they 
see  it,  without  reference  to  its  signature  or  the  rarity 
which  comes  with  the  cessation  of  the  artist's  labours. 

The  summers  of  1882-3  I  passed  at  Milton-on-the- 
Hudson,  staying  in  the  same  house  as  George  Inness. 
During  the  most  of  one  of  these  summers  Inness  was 
at  work  on  two  canvases,  the  choice  of  which  he  pro- 
posed to  give  to  some  Western  man  who  had  given  him 
a  commission  for  $1,000.  The  pictures  were  about  the 
size  and  importance  of  those  which  since  his  death  have 
brought  from  $10,000  to  $30,000. 

Within  a  year  of  his  death  Homer  Martin  expressed 
to  me  his  satisfaction  at  receiving  the  modest  price  he 
asked  for  perhaps  the  most  beautiful  of  his  works,  "The 
Church  at  Criqueboeuf",  from  the  collector,  who  within 

23 


a  couple  of  years  sold  it  for  nearly  ten  times  the  amount 
that  he  had  paid.  In  the  case  of  this  collector,  Mr. 
William  T.  Evans,  to  whom  American  art  owes  much, 
his  personal  courage  was  vindicated  here,  as  in  many 
other  cases;  but,  had  Martin  met  many  such  men,  his 
history  would  have  been  different,  and  once  more  and 
above  all,  his  production  in  quantity  and  quality  more 
sustained. 

At  the  Hearn  sale  last  year  a  picture  by  Theodore 
Robinson,  purchased  by  Mr.  Hearn  at  the  Robinson  sale 
which  was  held  after  the  latter's  death,  at  which  very  small 
prices  prevailed,  became  the  property  of  the  Corcoran 
Art  Gallery,  Washington,  D.  C.,  for  the  sum  of  $5,000.00. 
I  was  one  of  the  most  intimate  friends  of  Robinson,  and 
I  remember  well  his  working  on  this  particular  canvas  to 
fulfill  a  commission  of  $150.00,  and  then  laying  it  aside 
as  a  failure — which,  though  not  finished,  it  is  not.  None 
of  these  men  had  real  recognition,  nor  a  decent  return 
from  their  work  during  their  lifetimes,  and  there  are 
many  today  now  living  under  the  same  conditions.  The 
only  remedy,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  will  come  through  a 
more  enlightened  public,  who  will  take  their  courage  in 
both  hands,  make  mistakes,  improve  their  taste,  and 
treat  the  work  of  art,  created  with  sincerity  and  without 
thought  of  commercial  value,  as  an  object  which  will 
bring  gratification — yes,  and  mental  and  moral  improve- 
ment— while  it  is  in  their  possession, — and,  more  than 
possibly,  a  substantial  profit  when  they  part  with  it. 
Meanwhile,  the  American  artist  does  not  whimper,  he 
has  all  the  resourcefulness  of  his  compatriots,  and  many 
amongst  them  have  faced  the  conditions  imposed  by  time 
and  place,  and  in  addition  have  won  professional  recog- 
nition that  is  international. 

24 


I  have  been  led  to  write  long  and  somewhat  irrele- 
vantly by  an  idle  moment  and  the  interest  your  pamphlet 
has  held  for  me ;  for  I  seem  to  recognize  in  you  a  volun- 
teer in  a  cause  where  no  practicing  artist  can  do  effective 
work.  For  this  service  I  thank  you,  and  remain, 


Very  sincerely  yours, 


WILL  H.  Low, 
N.  A. 


To 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS,  ESQ. 


25 


NEW  YORK,  July  2,  1918. 
DEAR  MR.  Low : 

Your  letter  dated  July  1,  1918,  received  today,  sug- 
gests that  the  book  "Painter  and  Patron"  might  be 
strengthened,  if  it  stated  the  purchase  prices  for  all  five 
paintings,  bought  for  the  "Louise  E.  Bettens  Fund". 
Here  are  the  prices  and  some  other  details: 


PURCHASE 


(1)  Lake  O'Hara,  oil  painting,  size  45  x  Z7y2 

inches,  painted  by,  and  bought  from, 

John  S.  Sargent $2,500.00 

(2)  Bridle    Path — Tahiti,    water   color,   size 

19x20^2  inches,  painted  by  John  La 
Farge,  bought  at  public  auction,  Feb- 
ruary 15,  1917,  at  sale  of  Collection  of 
Dr.  Alexander  C.  Humphreys 1,300.00 

(3)  Sunday  Morning,  Domberg,  water  color, 

painted  by  J.  McN.  Whistler,  size 
9l/2  x  5l/2  inches,  bought  of  M.  Knoed- 
ler  &  Co.,  Dealers 1,500.00 

(4)  Monmouth  Before  James  II,  unfinished 

oil  painting,  size  63  x  9\l/2  inches, 
painted  by  John  S.  Copley,  bought  of 
E.  C.  Hodgkins,  9  East  54th  Street, 
New  York  City,  Dealer 1,500.00 

(5)  Fishing  in  the  Adirondacks,  water  color, 

painted  by  Winslow  Homer,  size  20  x  14 
inches,  bought  of  M.  Knoedler  &  Co., 
Dealers  1,500.00 

Under  a  separate  cover  I  am  mailing  to  you  photo- 
graphs of  each  of  above  paintings,  which,  at  your  con- 
venience, please  return  to  me. 

The  City  of  Boston  commissioned  Copley  to  paint  for 
it  two  historical  paintings  at  1,500  pounds  sterling  each. 
One,  completed,  is  in  the  Boston  Library.  The  other  is 
the  Monmouth  above  mentioned. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 
Mr.  WILL  H.  Low. 

26 


The  part  taken  by  me  in  the  purchase  of  the  five 
paintings  for  the  Louise  E.  Bettens  Fund  was  as 
follows : 

I  added  $1300  to  the  income  of  that  Fund  to  help  pay 
for  the  "Lake  O'Hara".  I  personally  bought  the 
remaining  four  paintings,  adding  to  the  income  of  that 
Fund  $300  to  help  pay  for  the  "Fishing  in  the  Adiron- 
dacks" ;  $1500  to  pay  for  the  "Sunday  Morning — Dom- 
berg" ;  $1500  to  pay  for  the  "Monmouth."  I  paid  $1300 
for  the  "Bridle  Path— Tahiti",  and  then  presented  that 
painting  to  Harvard  College  for  that  Fund. 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 


27 


CRAGSMOOR,  N.  Y., 
July  6,  1918. 


MR.  EDWARD  D.  BETTENS, 
130  West  87th  Street, 
New  York  City. 

MY  DEAR  MR.  BETTENS  : 

Thank  you  for  sending  me  the  pamphlet  en- 
closing your  letter  to  Mr.  Edward  W.  Forbes, 
Director  of  Fogg  Art  Museum.  I  also  want  to 
thank  you  for  the  movement  you  have  set  on  foot 
to  induce  the  buying  public  to  deal  direct  with  the 
artist  and  not  with  the  dealer  in  works  of  art. 

The  latter  is,  as  you  say,  "a  merchant,  and  to 
patronize  him,  is  to  benefit  the  merchant,  and  only 
very  remotely,  the  artist".  The  dealer's  estimation 
of  a  work  of  art  is  based  on  the  profit  he  can 
make  out  of  it.  He  may  not  be  a  connoisseur,  but 
by  advertising  he  has  made  the  public  believe  he 
is,  therefore  the  public  is  willing  to  pay  him  one 
hundred  per  cent,  more  for  his  opinion. 

I  do  not  blame  the  dealer  for  making  all  the 
profit  he  can;  that  is  what  he  is  in  the  business 
for.  And  I  do  not  blame  the  public  for  turning 

28 


to  the  dealer  for  advice.  He  is  the  only  one  they 
know;  he  is  the  only  one  who  has  advertised. 
The  fault  lies  with  the  artist ;  he  should  do  the  ad- 
vertising; he  should  advertise  his  brother  artist's 
work;  he  should  create  an  art  atmosphere.  Art- 
ists should  talk  about  their  work,  write  about  it, 
have  shows,  studio  receptions;  induce  the  public 
to  mingle  with  the  artists  and  learn  from  them 
the  meaning  of  art;  its  terms,  its  mission  and 
what  constitutes  a  work  of  art. 

The  artist  is  the  only  one  who  knows,  and  when 
he  finds  a  certain  quality  in  a  man's  work  that  he 
recognizes  as  art  he  should  tell  the  public  of  it. 
He  should  point  out  its  quality  and  explain  why 
it  is  great  as  a  work  of  art.  He  need  not  become 
a  critic  of  art ;  there  are  plenty  of  penny-a-liners 
who  can  attend  to  that  part.  Let  them  point  out 
the  faults  and  scribble  on  subjects  they  may  know 
absolutely  nothing  about;  the  lack  of  drawing, 
color,  quality  and  technique.  The  artist  should 
point  out  to  the  layman  the  beauties  only,  and  tell 
why  they  are  beautiful.  This  would  create  an  in- 
terest in  art  and  teach  the  layman  to  use  an  intel- 
ligent judgment  in  choosing  the  works  that 
appeal  to  him. 

But  the  artist,  unfortunately,  is  too  busy  trying 
to  sell  his  own  work  in  order  to  provide  bread  for 
his  family.  The  struggle  is  so  hard  that  he  has 

29 


wrongly  come  to  believe  that  if  the  other  fellow 
had  not  sold  he  might  have  done  so.  This  is  abso- 
lutely absurd;  the  more  pictures  one  fellow  sells 
the  more  chance  the  rest  of  us  have  of  selling. 
Make  it  fashionable  to  buy  pictures  direct  from 
the  artist  and  praise  what  you  find  good. 

We  have  exhibitions,  it  is  true,  and  award 
prizes,  but  these  prizes  have  been  donated  and 
must  be  awarded.  I  do  not  believe  in  awards  out- 
side of  the  schools.  I  do  believe  in  praising 
everything  we  find  good  in  art.  Show  the  public 
what  is  good  in  art  and  we  will  succeed,  because 
we  know  our  art  is  good.  As  I  said  before  we  are 
too  self-centered.  We  must  be  generous  and 
work  to  uphold  all  that  is  fine  in  art,  and  not  be 
like  the  man  in  this  story  I  heard  some  years  ago 
whose  interest  could  not  extend  beyond  his  own 
picture. 

Mr.  Hovenden  and  William  Hart  were  on  the 
hanging  committee  of  the  Academy  of  Design. 
Hovenden  had  a  large  and  important  picture  and 
he  spent  the  whole  morning  taking  it  from  room 
to  room  and  trying  it  in  all  the  different  lights. 
When  he  was  finally  satisfied  he  suddenly  remem- 
bered that  he  had  a  very  important  engagement 
and  would  have  to  leave.  Then  said  Hart,  "Well, 
Mr.  Hovenden,  I'm  very  sorry  you  dinna  like  yur 
picture." 

30 


FRANK  BETTENS 

BORN  JANUARY  14.  1844        DIED  MARCH  1O.  1864 

FROM  A  PAINTING  IN  MINIATURE  BY 

ALYN  WILLIAMS 


Let  us  hang  the  other  fellow's  picture;  he  will 
look  after  ours.  Don't  blame  the  dealer,  but 
blame  the  artist  for  not  asserting  his  right,  and 
showing  that  the  dealer  is  nothing  but  a  mer- 
chant, and  may  know  nothing  and  care  nothing 
about  the  art  he  is  dealing  in. 

I  am  sending  you  under  separate  cover,  a  copy 
of  my  book  "Life,  Art  and  Letters  of  George 
Jnness"  in  which  I  treat  on  this  subject. 

Assuring  you  of  my  hearty  sympathy  and  co- 
operation with  your  movement  of  justice  to  the 
artist, 

I  am, 

Sincerely, 

GEO.  INNESS,  JR.,  N.  A. 


31 


NEW  YORK,  July  8th,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  Low : 

Mr.  Wm.  Sergeant  Kendall,  Director  of  the 
School  of  the  Fine  Arts,  Yale  University,  says  in 
a  letter  to  me  printed  in  "Painter  and  Patron" 
that  he  is  "absolutely  in  accord  with  the  opinions 
expressed  in"  my  letters  to  Mr.  Edward  W. 
Forbes  dated  May  1  and  May  10,  1918,  printed 
in  "Painter  and  Patron". 

On  July  2nd  inst.  I  mailed  to  Mr.  Edward  W. 
Forbes,  Director  of  the  Fogg  Art  Museum,  Har- 
vard University,  a  folder  (copy  enclosed).  "The 
Physician,  Lawyer  and  Painter  must  not  adver- 
tise for  business"  is  its  subject  matter. 

Today  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Forbes 
thanking  me  for  that  folder. 

If,  through  him,  Harvard  University  should 
favor  the  policy  of  Art  Museums  buying  paint- 
ings from  living  painters,  it  will  be  a  considerable 
step  forward.  Harvard  and  Yale  Universities 
are  potent  influences  in  forming  Public  Opinion 
— and  Public  Opinion  is  a  great  factor,  in  bring- 
ing about  any  habit.  What  is  it  that  Painter  and 
Patron  want,  but  the  habit  of  dealing  with  one 
another  ? 

32 


When  the  great  sculptor,  Augustus  Saint- 
Gaudens,  was  told  that  a  certain  Painter  had,  on 
one  occasion,  avoided  the  society  of  some  indi- 
viduals, because  they  were  not  Artists,  Saint- 
Gaudens  exclaimed  that  such  conduct  was  "sim- 
ply idiotic". 

And  I  say  "Amen". 

If  the  Artist  scorns  Demos,  the  latter  tightens 
his  purse  strings  and  neglects  the  Art  Galleries. 

It  does  not  lower  Art,  or  degrade  the  Artist, 
to  cultivate  the  good  opinion  of  Demos. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

MR.  WILL  H.  Low, 

N.A. 


33 


THOMAS  SIMMS  BETTENS 

BORN  MARCH  6.  1851          D  I  ED  J  U  L  Y  2  .  1  9O7 

FROM  A  PAINTING  IN  MINIATURE  BY 

ALYN  WILLIAMS 


A    SUGGESTION 


BY 


MR.  WILL  H.  Low,  N.  A. 


35 


NEW  YORK,  July  12,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  FORBES  : 

There  is  in  Boston  a  "Boston  School  of  Paint- 
ing". 

Would  not  the  Fogg  Art  Museum  gain  char- 
acter and  distinction,  if,  for  the  next  fifty  years, 
it  purchased,  at  intervals,  and  with  care,  works  of 
that  School? 

The  idea  is  not  mine,  but  is  contained  in  a  letter 
of  Mr.  Will  H.  Low  to  me,  dated  July  1 1th,  1918, 
a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 


MR.  EDWARD  W.  FORBES, 

Fogg  Art  Museum. 


37 


LAWRENCE  PARK, 
Bronxville,  N.  Y., 
11  July,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  BETTENS  : 

There  rises  in  my  mind  a  criticism,  or  perhaps 
a  query,  as  to  the  principle  upon  which  this  little 
collection  (The  Bettens  Collection  in  the  Fogg 
Art  Museum)  is  being  formed.  I  venture  to  say 
that  there  is  not  a  Museum  in  the  country  which 
does  not  possess,  or  is  not  in  the  market  for, 
works  represented  in  the  Bettens  Collection,  to- 
gether with  the  work  of  some  few  others,  mostly 
men  "handled"  by  the  dealers. 

Now  one  of  the  qualities  which  strikes  one,  vis- 
iting the  numerous  provincial  Museums  in 
Europe,  in  France  especially,  which  I  know  best, 
and  where  no  town  is  too  small  to  have  its  munici- 
pal picture  gallery,  is  the  distinctive  character  of 
each.  Often  they  are  even  local,  and  one  may  dis- 
cover artists  of  a  certain  merit  whose  fame  has 
hardly  reached  beyond  their  birthplace,  or  having 

38 


EDWARD  DETRAZ  BETTENS 

JULY.   1916 
BORN  APRIL  11.   1848 

FROM   A   PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE  BY 
ALYN   WILLIAMS 


won  fame  far  from  home,  their  birthplace  has 
taken  pains  to  procure  their  work  from  local  pride. 
Often  these  latter  men  have  left,  by  bequest,  the 
contents  of  their  studios  to  the  home  town,  and  as 
even  these  men  are  likely  to  retain,  against  their 
will,  a  collection  of  their  own  work,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  visit  Montauban,  for  instance,  to  see 
a  comprehensive  exhibition  of  Ingre's  work,  or 
La  Roche-sur-Yon,  to  know  the  earlier  work  of 
Paul  Baudry.  A  few  years  ago  I  ran  across  in  a 
town  in  Brittany,  Morlaix  by  name,  quite  a  num- 
ber of  rather  interesting  works  by  a  man  whose 
name  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  have  forgotten.  One 
of  these,  a  large  ambitious  canvas,  not  ill  done, 
was  a  scene  in  winter  on  Broadway!  Painted 
sometime  in  the  fifties,  when  New  York  left  its 
snow  on  the  ground,  it  showed  cutters  and  long 
stage  sleighs  dashing  to  and  fro,  the  buildings  in 
the  background,  the  "St.  Nicholas  Hotel"  among 
them,  evidently  true  to  the  fact,  it  was  evidence 
that  the  painter  had  wandered  far  afield,  and  I, 
at  least,  was  glad  that  his  work  had  been  pre- 
served. Of  course,  we  build  Carnegie  libraries 
instead  of  Museums  in  most  of  our  towns,  but 
where  we  have  Museums  we  aim  at  an  average 

39 


that  makes  one  almost  a  counterpart  of  the  other. 
Now  there  is  in  Boston  to-day  a  quite  flourishing 
school  of  painting  (or  something  which  likes  to 
think  itself  a  school)  of  which  some  of  the  mem- 
bers are  quite  prosperous  and  well  "patronized" 
but  others,  I  fancy,  much  less  fortunate.  Merely 
as  a  supposition,  the  Director  of  the  Fogg  Mu- 
seum might  keep  his  eye  upon  these  men,  and  if, 
in  forty  or  fifty  years  from  now,  one  could  find  in 
the  Fogg  Art  Museum  evidence  that  a  body  of 
interesting  painters  had  practised  locally  in  these 
years  of  our  century,  I  think  that  the  collection 
would  have  a  distinctive  character  and  an  interest 
not  overshadowed  by  the  greater  collection  of  the 
Museum  of  Fine  Arts  in  Boston.  All  of  this  has 
some  relation  to  your  contention,  that,  if  Museum 
Directors  had  more  courage  they  would  invest  the 
funds  at  their  disposal  and  obtain  more  for  less 
money,  quantity  without  detriment  of  quality,  and 
lead  instead  of  following.  Then  perhaps  the  pub- 
lic would  take  heart  and  the  painter  instead  of 
selling  about  one  picture  out  of  ten  (which  forces 
him  to  ask  for  the  tenth  a  price  that  to  some  degree 
compensates  for  the  nine  unsold)  would  find  his 
product  taken  at  moderate  but  living  prices. 

40 


If  Demos  is  to  be  placated  it  will  be  largely 
through  such  effort  as  yours;  the  artist  is  too 
much  suspected  of  the  ulterior  object. 

Sincerely  yours, 

WILL  H.  Low. 

To 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS,  ESQ. 


41 


As  THE  BOOK,  "PAINTER  AND  PATRON" 

Is  THE  OUTGROWTH  OF  THE 

MEMORIAL 

OF 
MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

IN 

HARVARD  UNIVERSITY 


A  sketch  suggesting  Her  Life  and  Character 
May  interest  the  Reader 


43 


NEW  YORK,  June  25,  1918. 


DEAR  MR.  Low: 

With  my  compliments,  please  accept  two  books,* 
mailed  to  you  under  a  separate  cover,  entitled, 
respectively : 

LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 
THE  FAMILY  OF  MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS. 

"Pippa  Passes" — even  the  lowly  and  insignificant  may 
change,  for  the  better,  the  opinions  and  practices  of  some 
who  are  influential. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS 
MR.  WILL  H.  Low. 


*Copies  of  the  same  books,  published  for  private  distribution, 
are  in  many  libraries,  among  them: 

THE  NEW  YORK  PUBLIC  LIBRARY 
THE  GROUER  CLUB  LIBRARY 

THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
NEW  YORK  METROPOLITAN  MUSEUM  of  ART 

THE  COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 

THE  LIBRARY  OE 
THE  NATIONAL  ACADEMY  of  DESIGN 


44 


MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 


45 


MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

AT   THE   AGE   OF 
THIRTY-SEVEN 

1864 

FROM   A   PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE  BY 
ALYN  WILLIAMS 


On  a  farm,  near  Ghent,  Kentucky,  there  was 
born,  January  7,  1827,  Louise  E.  Rochat,  the 
daughter  of  Jacob  and  Nancy  Rochat.  A  reader 
of  books,  this  father  usually  had  one  with  him, 
even  when  at  his  work.  When  this  daughter 
was  old  enough,  she  became  his  companion,  and 
not  infrequently,  he  would  unhitch  the  horses 
from  the  plow,  or  stop  whatever  work  he  was 
doing,  and  read  aloud  to  his  daughter. 

The  Book  of  Job,  the  Psalms  of  David,  the 
poetry  of  Moore,  Burns  and  Byron  quickened  the 
mind  of  the  girl,  and  a  strong  desire  for  knowl- 
edge and  wisdom  early  came  to  this  child,  from 
such  a  father,  but,  at  the  same  time,  the  neg- 
lected farm  work  soon  ended  in  the  loss  of  the 
farm.  With  his  family,  Jacob  Rochat  went  to 
Vevay,  Indiana,  and  there  on  January  31,  1843, 
Louise  E.  Rochat,  not  yet  seventeen  years  of  age, 
married  Alexander  Bettens.  From  that  mar- 
riage were  born,  in  Vevay,  Frank,  Rose,  Edward 
Detraz  and  Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  naming  the 
children  in  the  order  of  their  births.  Rose,  born 
May  10,  1846,  died  June  28,  1849. 

The  girl,  Louise  E.  Rochat,  and  the  matron, 
Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  loved  nature  and  ani- 

47 


mals.  In  Vevay  a  crow  became  her  friend  and 
the  two  would  go  together  into  the  woods,  the 
crow  flying  off  among  the  trees,  but  returning 
to  its  friend  at  her  call. 

At  the  expiration  of  about  ten  years  of  mar- 
ried life,  Alexander  Bettens'  health  failed.  He 
never  regained  it,  dying  August  11,  1870. 

That  sickness,  and  financial  embarrassment, 
brought  Mrs.  Bettens  face  to  face  with  the  prob- 
lem of  supporting  and  educating  her  three  young 
sons  from  her  own  earnings. 

Teaching  for  a  few  years,  in  and  about  Vevay, 
gave  her  but  a  small  and  precarious  income,  and 
writing  for  the  newspapers,  none  at  all. 

About  1857  she  and  her  three  sons  were  in 
Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  for  about  ten  years  she 
remained  in  that  city,  with  them,  supporting 
them  with  wages,  never  more  than  about  twelve 
dollars  per  week. 

No  friendly  bird  visited  her  in  her  Cincinnati 
room.  No  books,  except  school  books,  were  pur- 
chased by  her  during 'those  ten  years,  but  her 
boys  entered  and  passed  through  the  District 
Schools  into  the  Intermediate  Schools,  Frank 
being  in  Woodward  High  School  when  he  died 
March  10,  1864. 

The  poverty  and  grief  of  Frank's  mother,  the 
hopes,  centered  in  him,  shattered  by  his  death, 

48 


at  the  age  of  twenty,  did  not  interfere  with  the 
education  of  her  two  remaining  sons.  They 
passed  through  the  Intermediate,  and  Wood- 
ward High  Schools  of  Cincinnati,  and  entered 
Harvard  College,  and  at  the  age  of  forty-six, 
their  mother  joined  them  in  Cambridge,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  June,  1873. 

In  Appleton  Chapel,  she  heard  Edward  speak 
on  Hildebrand,  and  saw  him  receive,  on  com- 
mencement day,  in  June,  1873,  his  degree  of 
A.  B.  from  Harvard  College. 

She  remained  in  Cambridge,  and  in  June, 
1874,  Thomas  gave  her  his  Harvard  College 
diploma  of  A.  B.  received  by  him  that  month, 
and  the  next  year  she  received  from  him  his 
Harvard  College  diploma  of  A.  M. 

From  June,  1873,  until  she  died  she  and 
Edward  had  one  home. 

Thomas  was  a  teacher  in  Lake  Forest  Acad- 
emy, Lake  Forest,  Illinois,  during  1875  and  1876. 
In  1877  he  joined  his  mother  and  brother  in  New 
York  City,  where  Edward  was  a  lawyer,  and 
there  the  three  lived  united  in  one  home  until 
Thomas  died  July  2,  1907. 

In  the  Harvard  College  Library  (Gore  Hall) 
Mr.  John  Fiske  gave  Mrs.  Bettens  an  alcove  and 
a  special  table,  and  talked  with  her  about  music 
and  books.  In  Boston  she  attended  the  lectures 

49 


of  the  Reverend  James  Freeman  Clarke.  She 
absorbed  the  writings  of  Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 
Congenial  friends  met  in  her  room  to  read  books, 
and  to  discuss  art,  music  and  literature,  and 
with  some  especial  friends,  she  attended,  in  Bos- 
ton, the  concerts  of  the  Symphony  Society.  So 
passed  about  three  years  of  her  life  in  Cam- 
bridge. 

The  last  thirty-eight  years  of  her  life  she  lived 
in  New  York  City.  She  was  in  Bar  Harbor, 
Maine,  for  the  summer,  for  about  thirty  succes- 
sive years,  up  to  and  including  the  summer  of 
1911. 

She  went  to  the  Grand  Opera  in  New  York 
City  and  was  a  constant  attendant  at  the  Con- 
certs given  in  that  city,  by  Theodore  Thomas, 
Leopold  Damrosch,  the  New  York  Philharmonic 
Society  and  the  Oratorio  Society.  She  did  not 
neglect  lighter  music  such  as  Gilbert  and  Sulli- 
van's. She  heard  Salvini,  Booth,  Irving,  Mod- 
jeska  and  Sara  Bernhardt;  was  delighted  with 
the  acting  at  Wallack's  and  Daly's  Theatres  and 
with  that  at  Harrigan  &  Hart's  and  Tony  Pas- 
tor's. 

At  weekly  reunions  of  a  few  friends  in  her 
home  in  New  York  City,  music,  art  and  litera- 
ture, were,  as  in  Cambridge,  the  subject  of  con- 
versation. 

so 


Surrounded  by  her  books  as  her  friends,  and 
by  a  few  men  and  women,  and  by  her  sons,  until 
Thomas  died  July  2,  1907,  and  then  with 
Edward,  she  passed  into  the  evening  of  life, 
losing  her  eyesight  in  1909,  her  optic  nerve 
dying. 

But  even  then  she  heard  re-read  the  poetry  of 
Byron,  Browning,  and  other  poets,  and  the 
novels  of  Dumas.  She  still  went  to  the  New 
York  Philharmonic  Concerts,  and  in  the  Sum- 
mers of  1909,  1910  and  1911,  at  Bar  Harbor, 
she  was  an  almost  daily  attendant  at  the  Boston 
Symphony  Concerts  given  at  the  Swimming 
Pool.  This  life  continued  until  the  evening  of 
November  10,  1911,  when,  for  the  last  time, 
sitting  in  her  library,  she  listened  to  one  of  the 
glowing  descriptions  in  Gibbon's  Decline  and 
Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire.  That  night  a  stroke 
of  paralysis  made  her  helpless,  from  the  effects 
of  which  she  never  recovered,  dying  March  23, 
1914. 

In  the  Treasure  Room  of  the  Widener 
Library,  Harvard  College,  is  a  quarto  volume  of 
inlaid  letters  and  illustrations,  entitled  Louise  E. 
Bettens,  bound  in  levant  by  Stikeman  &  Co.,  with 
no  star  on  its  back.  These  letters,  written  from 
her  home,  during  this  last  sickness,  to  intimate 
friends,  describe  her  life  of  about  two  years  and 

51 


four  months  in  that  sick  room,  and  show  that 
music,  literature  of  the  highest  kind,  and  con- 
versation, sustained  her  and  enabled  her  to  for- 
get her  age,  and  physical  infirmities. 

The  Reading  of  the  Medea  of  Euripides  to  her 
on  November  25,  1912,  described  in  that  book, 
is  but  one  of  similar  readings  occurring  almost 
daily  during  that  sickness. 

In  March,  1864,  she  lost  Frank,  her  eldest 
child,  and  her  grief  and  poverty  were  then 
extreme. 

But  she  rose  superior  to  that  grief  and  pov- 
erty, and  in  her  last  sickness  she  was  superior  to 
the  infirmities  of  age  and  sickness,  being  sup- 
ported by  the  thoughts  and  visions  spread  before 
her  by  some  of  the  world's  great  minds. 

We  may  be  living  today  in  a  materialistic  age, 
but  idealism  is  not  dead  when  a  Louise  E.  Bettens 
lives.  The  picture  of  the  Reading  of  the  Medea 
of  Euripides  shows  that  the  mind  and  soul  of 
such  an  idealist  conquers  even  the  grim  visage 
of  approaching  Death  which  ceases  to  have  any 
terrors  for  her.  Perhaps  her  life  and  aspira- 
tions may  have  a  good  influence  upon  some  who 
see  that  picture  and  understand  its  meaning. 


52 


READING 
THE   MEDEA   OF  EURIPIDES 

TO 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 

FROM   A   PAINTING    IN    MINIATURE   BY 
ALYN    WILLIAMS 

FROM    A    PHOTOGRAPH    NOVEMBER    25TH.    1912,    BY 
ALMAN     &    CO. 

MARIE  M.  THOMPSON 
EDWARD   DETRAZ  BETTENS 


S3 


THE   LOUISE   E.   BETTENS 
MEMORIAL 

IN 

HARVARD   COLLEGE 


57 


NEW  YORK,  April  10, 1917. 

DEAR  WARE  : — 

Your  letter  received.  I  have  always  hoped 
that  my  Mother's  character — one  of  aspiration 
under  difficulties — might,  if  known,  help  and  en- 
courage others  when  in  trouble.  How  to  call  at- 
tention to  that  character  was  and  is  the  problem. 
I  am  still  working  at  it,  and  perhaps  will  continue 
to  do  so,  as  long  as  I  live. 

The  poet  has  described  her  life  of  Aspiration: 

BUILD    THEE    MORE    STATELY    MANSIONS,    O 
MY   SOUL, 

As  THE  SWIFT  SEASONS  ROLL! 

LEAVE  THY  LOW  VAULTED  PAST! 

LET  EACH  NEW  TEMPLE,  NOBLER  THAN  THE 

LAST, 

SHUT  THEE  FROM  HEAVEN  WITH  A  DOME 

MORE  VAST, 

TlLL  THOU  AT  LENGTH  ART  FREE, 
LEAVING  THINE  OUTGROWN  SHELL  BY  LIFE'S 

UNRESTING  SEA! 

For  your  consideration,  and  in  answer  to  your 
letter,  I  enclose  a  statement  of  my  Mother's 
Memorial  in  Harvard  College.  I  prefer  that  my 
name  be  not  mentioned  in  that  statement  except 
where  it  is  unavoidable. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS, 
Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College. 

MR.  ARTHUR  L.  WARE, 

Secretary  Class  of  1873,  Harvard  College. 

59 


THE  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS  MEMORIAL 
HARVARD   COLLEGE 

Louise  E.  Rochat,  born  January  7,  1827,  on  a 
farm  near  Ghent,  Kentucky,  married  January 
31,  1843,  in  Vevay,  Indiana,  to  Alexander  Bet- 
tens,  was  the  mother  of  Frank,  Rose,  Edward 
Detraz  and  Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  naming  the 
children  in  the  order  of  their  births. 

Mrs.  Bettens  died  March  23,  1914,  in  New 
York  City,  her  husband  and  all  of  her  children 
except  Edward  having  predeceased  her. 

The  book,  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens,  limited  to 
150  copies,  printed  on  Japan  paper,  bound  in 
Levant,  with  doublure  and  silk  flyleaf,  with  illus- 
trations, was  for  private  distribution  only. 

There  is  in  Harvard  College  a  foundation  for 
a  memorial  of  Mrs.  Bettens.  Beauty  and  Use- 
fulness have  been  controlling  factors  in  establish- 
ing this  memorial,  and  the  Fogg  Art  Museum, 
the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  and  the 
Widener  Library,  have  united  in  helping  to 
establish  it. 

The  Fogg  Art  Museum  controls  a  sum  of 
money,  amounting  at  present  to  Twenty  Thou- 
sand Dollars,  as  a  principal  fund,  known  as 

THE    LOUISE    E.  BETTENS   FUND 
ESTABLISHED  BY  HER  CHILDREN 

The  income  of  this  fund  is  to  be  used  to  en- 
courage and  advance  Painting  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States,  including  women,  as  well  as  men. 

The  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  has  set 
aside  a  room  in  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  to  be 
known  as  The  Louise  E.  Bettens  Room. 

60 


The  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association  has 
Twenty-five  Hundred  Dollars,  as  a  principal 
fund,  to  be  kept  intact  and  to  be  known  as 

THE  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS  FUND 
PHILLIPS    BROOKS    HOUSE    ASSOCIATION 

The  income  of  that  Fund  is  to  further  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  Phillips  Brooks  House  Association, 
but  is  not  to  be  used  for  the  maintenance  of 
Harvard  College  buildings  or  for  the  expenses 
now  met  by  Harvard  College  or  by  the  existing 
Phillips  Brooks  House  Fund. 

The  Widener  Library,  in  its  Treasure  Room 
has  Ten  Books,  to  which  the  book,  Mrs.  Louise 
E.  Bettens,  is  to  be  added,  and  also  has  seven 
miniatures  painted  by  Alyn  Williams,  all  the 
books  and  the  miniatures  contained  in  one  cabinet. 

The  seven  miniatures  are  as  follows: 

ROSE  AND   HER  MOTHER 1848 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 1864 

FRANK  BETTENS 1864 

THOMAS  SIMMS  BETTENS,  DON  AND 

KEBO 1906 

MRS.  LOUISE  E.  BETTENS 1907 

THE  READING  OF  THE  MEDEA  OF 

EURIPIDES   TO   MRS.    LOUISE   E. 

BETTENS 1912 

EDWARD  DETRAZ  BETTENS 1916 

Incidental  to  this  Memorial,  and  helping  to 
make  it  attractive  and  instructive,  Harvard  Col- 
lege has  accepted  the  following  paintings  which 
are  now  in  the  following  places,  to  wit : 

61 


In  Room  No.  790  of  the  Widener  Library  are : 

THE  HEAD  OF  A  GIRL,  BY  A.  ASTI. 

A  VESTAL  VIRGIN,  A  COPY  ON  DELFT  OF  THE 
VESTAL  VIRGIN,  BY  ANGELICA  KAUFF- 
MAN  IN  THE  DRESDEN  GALLERY. 

In  the  Louise  E.  Bettens  Room,  Phillips  Brooks 
House,  are: 

TWO  PORTRAITS  OF  MRS.  BETTENS  AND  ONE 
PORTRAIT  OF  THOMAS  SlMMS  BETTENS. 

A  LANDSCAPE  IN  OIL,  BY  A.  H.  WYANT. 

A  LANDSCAPE,  WATER  COLOR,  BY  EUGENE 
DESZAGG. 

In  the  Fogg  Art  Museum  are : 

LAKE  O'HARA,  A  PAINTING  IN  OIL,  BY  JOHN 
SINGER  SARGENT. 

BRIDLE  PATH — TAHITI,  A  WATER  COLOR,  BY 
JOHN  LA  FARGE. 

SUNDAY  MORNING  DOMBERG,  A  WATER 
COLOR,  BY  JAMES  McNEiLL  WHISTLER. 

MONMOUTH  BEFORE  JAMES  II,  REFUSING 
TO  REVEAL  THE  NAMES  OF  HIS  ACCOM- 
PLICES, AN  UNFINISHED  OIL  PAINTING, 
BY  JOHN  SINGLETON  COPLEY. 

It  is  not  out  of  place  in  connection  with  this 
Memorial  to  mention  the  Fountain  in  the  Har- 
vard Union,  placed  there  as  a  memorial  of 
Thomas  Simms  Bettens,  by  some  of  his  pupils. 

Nor  should  the  Thomas  Simms  Bettens  Fund, 
established  in  1916  by  the  Harvard  Chapter  of 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  Alpha  of  Massachusetts,  be  over- 
looked. 

62 


NEW  YORK,  June  6,  1917. 

DEAR  CLARKE: 

You  and  Beaman*  will,  I  am  sure,  be  interested 
in  Dr.  Charles  W.  Eliot's  letter  to  me  dated  June 
5th  inst,  a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed. 

The  wise  and  experienced  Dr.  Eliot  says  in  his 
letter  to  me : 

"You,  of  course,  have  procured  from  the 
President  and  Fellows  of  Harvard  College  a 
statement  accepting  the  funds  on  the  exact 
conditions  of  trust." 

Havel? 

I  have  been  less  interested  in  those  funds  (al- 
though they  are  of  great  interest  to  me  and  to 
what  I  am  trying  to  accomplish)  than  I  have  been 
in  the  book  "Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens",  and  what 
its  contents  suggest.  It  is  particularly  what  that 
book  suggests  that  I  have  had  constantly  in  mind. 
Anybody  who  has  the  spare  cash  can  give  money 
to  Harvard  College,  and  buy  pictures,  and  fur- 
nish rooms,  all  of  which  is  very  interesting.  But 
to  suggest  a  character  and  a  life,  omitting  many 
details,  is  quite  another  matter.  I  do  not  know 
whether  I  have  succeeded  in  producing  that  kind 
of  a  book. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 
SAMUEL  B.  CLARKE,  Esq. 

*William  S.  Beaman,  Harvard  Class  of  1872. 

63 


NEW  YORK  CITY, 

April  1st,  1918. 
DR.  CHARLES  W.  ELIOT, 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

DEAR  MR.  ELIOT: 

The  house  in  Vevay,  Indiana,  in  which  all  of 
the  children  of  Mrs.  Louise  E.  Bettens  were  born, 
and  in  which  she  lived  from  the  time  of  her 
marriage,  in  1843,  to  about  1857,  is  still  in  exist- 
ence, its  front  porch  having  been  replaced  by  a 
portico,  and  some  additions  having  been  made  to 
it  in  the  rear. 

The  house  fronts  south,  looking  over  the  Ohio 
River,  towards  the  Kentucky  Hills.  At  my  re- 
quest a  Vevay  photographer,  last  month,  made 
three  photographs  of  the  house  and  its  front 
yard.  One  photograph  was  of  the  front  of  the 
house,  with  the  camera  standing  near  it.  An- 
other was  a  photograph  of  the  gate,  yard,  and 
front  of  the  house,  the  camera  being  stationed 
a  little  south  of  the  road.  The  third  photograph 
is  of  the  yard,  road,  Ohio  River  and  the  Ken- 
tucky Hills,  with  the  camera  standing  in  front 
of  the  house. 

The  weeping  willow  tree  that  was  formerly  at 
the  gate  is  no  longer  there.  Nor  is  there  a  vine- 
yard, as  formerly,  from  the  road  stretching  north 
over  the  farm.  Two  pecan  trees  are  still  stand- 
ing near  the  house.  I  am  sending  you  herewith 
one  of  each  of  those  photographs.  The  flower 
border  on  each  side  of  the  walk  from  the  gate 
to  the  house  is  of  daffodills.  That  border  was 
there  when  I  was  living  in  the  house. 

Sincerely, 

EDWARD  D.  BETTENS. 

64 


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